No one ever touched him. They knew who he was and what he usually set out to accomplish. If a homie on the block saw his ass on their doorstep, then they must've done fucked up.

Of course, like most people, the man was somewhat reasonable.

"As long as you give him his due, then you might just see another day in your life." People would say on the streets.

The truth was, he had a short temper with people who just thought that they could never fucking give back what they owed. His name was Mike. He was decently buff, and was a great shooter at that. Hell, his woman was probably just as dangerous as him.

You see, Mike was a part of a gang in Chicago. A month ago, he found out that Leroy, his foolish brother, was in serious debt for screwing up a deal with one of the people that he worked with.

"YOU CRAZY?! HOW MUCH DO YOU OWE NOW?!" Mike screamed as he slammed his fists on his desk, looking at his brother.

Leroy was stiff. He didn't know what to say. In tense situations like these, he was always this way. Why was he so weak?

Mike walked up to Leroy and grabbed his arm. He squeezed it tight.

"We not gonna rob a bank. Nah fool, there's something precious that we'll rob instead, then we'll give it to him so he can sell it to some other dudes." Mike said.

Leroy didn't reply. He just stared at the gun on Mike's desk. Mike looked at his gun, picked it up, and pressed it against his brother's chest.

"YOU were never ready...now get out of my fucking face." Mike said boldly.

Leroy didn't even hesitate to leave the room. Now, it was just Mike, his thoughts, and the gun in his hands. He needed some sort of game plan. He knew some people who were desperate, they would help him steal a precious but not so popular Diamond or something. He had to try something. Anything.

Mike put his gun away, locked it up, and went outside. It was raining, but he didn't care. He started walking home, wondering what Natasha was going to think about this situation.

...

When Mike arrived home, he saw Natasha sitting on the couch on her phone while watching TV. Before Mike could even fully walk past her, she called him out.

"Not even a hello?" She said, chewing gum.

Mike sighed.

"Hey. Umm...my brother...got into some real shit." Mike replied.

Natasha raised her eyebrows.

Mike sat next to Natasha and started talking.

"So, shit as in debt, but don't worry, I..." Mike started, but Natasha started shaking her head side-to-side.

"You know how I feel about him. He should be taking care of his own shit by now. How many times have you done this for him? What has he done for you?" Natasha asked.

Mike thought about it. He couldn't give a direct answer, but he knew that he was going through with this execution no matter what. He just had to. Something in him compelled him to do it.

Natasha put her hands on Mike's shoulders.

"Changed your mind?"

"Doesn't look like it. Leroy's too stuck up to make a move. They'll kill him for sure. I just hope they won't kill me if I fail to help his ass." Mike replied.

Natasha grinned.

"If you're dead, then they're dead." Natasha said, making comedic facial expressions.

Both laughed.

"Well, I'm going upstairs." Mike said.

Mike went upstairs and Natasha stayed. She thought about how Mike's execution would all play out.

...

The next morning, Mike met with his boys at their central hub. Most of them looked ready—hell, more than ready to take what they needed quickly and get the fuck out.

"On Chamberlain Street, boss. I overheard some talk. Looks like there's some other folk who's getting on it first. We'll just take it from them. The Diamond, of course." One of Mike's men said.

Mike nodded.

"Good, good. Alright, let's plan for 11 sharp. I bet they'll be coming then." Mike said.

His men nodded. They were watching as Mike was putting boxes of small crates in the back of a truck. It seemed weird. His men murmured some things to each other and decided to turn around and start walking away.

BOP! BOP! BOP!

Gunshots. Three gunshots and three dead men. Mike quickly took out his pistol and took cover on the other side of the truck.

Whoever fired that shot was definitely not a sniper. They probably had a regular handgun that must've caught his men off guard.

SHIT! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Mike thought.

Mike made sure that the guy who had shot wasn't playing on shooting his foot using the space underneath the truck. This idea for an ambush wasn't so bad. After all, they were near a junkyard—a stinky one at that.

"YOU CRAZY?! YOU REALLY WANNA DIE?! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" Mike screamed, sweat going down his face.

The man, who was the supposed shooter, laughed. He laughed for a while and said: "Yeah, I know. Listen, you're outnumbered, step out or we'll come over here."

"As hell you will. Come over here and you'll catch this bullet!" Mike screamed.

He was certain they wouldn't do it. How the hell did they even have guts to do a full shootout against him, of all people? Clearly, they didn't know who he was.

"This better not be about Leroy! Just tell me what your boss owes and he'll get it in due time!" Mike said.

The man laughed again.

"Leroy? Nah, it ain't about him. You see, brotha, if you thought we were expecting anything from L, then you must've been mistaken. Why do you think we're out here shooting your ass up?" The man asked.

Mike paused for a moment, then thought about Leroy. So weak, physically and mentally. Not only that, but he was a bad liar too. Not a great combination for someone that you have a natural drive to look out for.

Shit, you gotta be kidding me.

The man sighed.

"Why not just come out and get..." The man started, but Mike m quickly got up and shot the man through both front windows of the truck. It was a clean headshot, so clean that even a gunslinger would've fallen to his knees in shock after witnessing a shot.

"YOU WANNA MESS WITH ME?!!!!" Mike screamed.

He quickly discovered the location of the other shooters and got in another spot. His gun was loaded, but he needed more mags.

It's fine. Imma just snatch some of theirs after I POP their heads off!!!

More gunshots were fired, but that didn't really matter to Mike. He was taking cover, and clearly, he was way better at shooters than these low-lives would ever be.

He suck his handgun out and shot about two times. After the second shot, he heard someone choking, and that is when he knew that he had probably pierced the lungs of one of the gun-men.

That's what I'm talking about. They think they gonna fuck with me?! With me?! Hell nah!

Mike sprinted out of his spot and started running towards another. While he was running, he was being shot at. None of the bullets even managed to graze him. It was a miracle, and his adrenaline was reaching higher than the sky.

IS THAT ALL THEY FUCKIMG GOT?!

While listening to more of the gunshots he could now distinguish two different guns. One of the men had a rifle while the other had a handgun.

The fuck?! Rifle? Seriously?

Mike sighed. He looked at the man sprawled up on the ground who was talking like a big-shot to him earlier and smiled.

And you really thought...

Mike glanced to his right and saw a big piece of glass leaning up against a small soda can. That piece of glass showed exactly where one of the men was.

Mike smiled.

He quickly got out of his spot and started running down the aisle, shooting like crazy. Even though he was shooting like a madman, his shots actually landed. He shot one of the men in the chest, and the other man was shot in the arm.

"FUCK!" The man said, tumbling down.

Mike grinned as he pointed his handgun to the man's head.

"Maybe next time you'll be careful pulling up on me like this...dumb fuck..." Mike started.

In broad daylight he was about to pull the trigger, but instead, everything turned black. He had felt something graze his head. It was surely a bullet—most likely.

...

Somewhere in the Hub

(Hours Before)

Leroy was sitting in his, shaking with fear. His brother had meant exactly what he said: "You were never ready".

What did this mean? He couldn't stop thinking about it, and most importantly, his debt. In terms of everything that wasn't just money, he owed his brother his life—practically. He helped him get out of so many situations, but here he was now, whining like a fucking child.

No, he couldn't do it. He couldn't keep on living like this. Why should he leave like this? He should've been making big moves like his brother. Man, he couldn't even at least get a girlfriend or impress anyone his entire life. Why was he such a sellout?

I...I...

A tear went down on the right side of his face. He wiped it with his arm and stared at a poster on the wall. It was a poster of a famous gangster that everyone knew. Even his brother was way closer to being a legend like the guy on the poster than him.

I can't continue to let it shine. I heard him say: "Get out of my sight". Well, I'm fucking done with me getting out of his sight. Why doesn't he fucking get out of my sight...

He heard some knocking outside. Who couldn't have been? Maybe it was probably some of Mike's men.

Ugh...

Leroy got up and walked across the hub room. By the time he approached the door, for some reason, he was sweaty. So sweaty, in fact, that when he put his hands on the door knob, he could barely turn it when he needed to.

"Open up." A female voice said from the other end.

Leroy raised his eyebrows. He didn't have his gun strapped on him. Should he go back and get it?

Fuck it.

Leroy quickly opened up the door and saw a gun to his face. Oop, that wasn't good. He took a couple of steps back as the person who was putting the gun to his face was wearing a mask with a hoodie. In fact, the people that were standing behind this person were also wearing masks and hoodies as well.

"What...what is this? Are you..." Leroy started, but the woman who had pointed the gun at his face wacked him in the head with the bottom of her handgun.

That hurt, like, really bad.

AGH!

"MONEY! NOW!" She commanded.

The men behind her seemed to have guns as well. Shit, well, he was definitely screwed now.

"Please, I don't have the money that you want right now, but...I know someone who does...umm....his name...." Leroy started. Should he do it? Should he sell his brother out?

I don't give a fuck anymore.

"Michael. His name is Michael." Leroy said.

The woman wacked him again. After that, she ordered the men behind her to restrain him and throw him in the back of their truck. Then, they drove him off with a bag wrapped around his head.

...

(Present)

The feeling of his heart beating was gone. Mike couldn't feel anything, yet, he felt somewhat alive. His vision was also skewed—at least, that is what he himself believed. It felt weird, because he could also see in full 360 degrees.

OH, hell no...am I a spirit?

Now, Mike was walking over his dead body. After looking over it, he glimpsed over the other bodies that he had shot before he himself was shot. He tried signing but realized that he couldn't sigh. He guessed that this proved the belief he had indeed crossed over the afterlife and was now a spirit.

It's so dark, almost like I'm in another realm. But wait...everything is so clear to me now. I...is that my brother?!

Indeed it was. So his brother was inside the back of a truck the entire time the shootout occurred. Also, it looks like the person who had shot Mike in the head was a sniper, and it was a woman. Most importantly, IT WAS HIS GIRLFRIEND!

WHAT?!!!! BABE?! SERIOUSLY?!

Mike couldn't believe it. Natasha, out of all people, had to be the one that would betray him and capture his own brother?

Dammit. What the fuck does she want from him?!

Natasha was the one who had just let Leroy out of the trunk and removed the bag covering his face. Leroy looked around in shock as he probably was deeply confused.

"You got him?" Leroy asked Natasha.

Hold up, now, Mike was confused. Did Leroy know that this was going to happen? The police were going to be here any minute now, so surely, Leroy didn't know Natasha's schemes, right?

Natasha pointed her sniper at Mike's body.

"Go fucking pick him up and let's go, or I will personally put a bullet in your head myself." Natasha threatened.

Leroy stammered. He went to pick up Mike's body with no haste.

I don't even want to know what they're up to. I should've just let my brother be a fucking by-gone, but even then, Natasha, even she had alternative motives.